ChronoBank.io, a blockchain project seeking to create an alternative labor economy based on time-based cryptocurrency has launched a new website, chronobank.io, and announced a December crowdfunding campaign.

ChronoBank hopes to revolutionize the short-term recruitment industry the way Uber changed the taxi industry, according to a press release. It seeks to create blockchain-based labor hour tokens and a decentralized marketplace where people will sell labor time.

With experience in both the recruitment industry and cryptocurrency, ChronoBank believes the time-based currency concept can change the way professionals look for work.

A New Role For Time Banking

Time banking has proven successful in limited settings – most notably Ithaca, New York, which has a thriving time-based economy built on the “Ithaca Hour” time currency. However, ChronoBank does not believe it is suited to a broader application in the 21st-century global workplace.

“We know we can change that with blockchain technology,” said Alexander Rugaev, ChronoBank CEO. “We want to make short-term recruitments as profitable and prestigious as long-term recruitments. One of our founders is Edway Group Ltd., one of the largest labor-hire companies in Australia, so we know exactly what the market needs and how to achieve it.”

Time-based cryptocurrency is the key component of ChronoBank’s idea. Time-based money has a different tax status compared to regular fiat money, and it can be exchanged for goods and services, or sold for other currencies.

How It Works

Labor hours link to average hourly wages in the host country and are backed by a real labor force from recruitment and labor-hire companies, according to the ChronoBank website.

Because labor-hour tokens are backed by real labor, they are inflation-proof and have next to zero volatility in comparison to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

“Labor hour tokens are also a great store of value and hedge against inflation since hourly wages tend to rise in line with or above inflation. That makes it attractive to earn and attractive to hold,” Rugaev said.

Awareness Needed

The first stage of the project is to build a presence in the cryptocurrency community, providing information and answering questions that may arise before launching the crowdfund in December.

“Over the coming month, we’ll be building awareness, not just around ChronoBank and its crowdfund, but more broadly about the idea and advantages of time-based currencies,” Rugaev said. “We want people to understand that we’re serious, we’re experienced in blockchain and the recruitment sectors, and we have the talent and backing to make this happen in a big way,”

“We’re going to hold the crowdfund and issue labor hours on multiple blockchain platforms, including Ethereum, Classic, Waves, Lisk and bitcoin, depending on demand,” he said.